Thomas Kelly died on 28 February 1866.¹ He was buried in a family plot on land he had farmed for more than 50 years in Union County, South Carolina. The stone that marks his grave still stands, though today it is overshadowed by a stand of mature pines grown in the midst of the old cemetery.²

A family Bible, probably once Thomas Kelly's own possession, records the date of his birth as 9 December 1784.³ Unfortunately, the record fails to state the place of his birth. It is possible that Thomas was born in Union County. According to the U. S. Census, there were Kellys (or Kelleys) living in Union County in 1790. Given names in those families, however, are not prominent in later generations of Thomas Kelly's family. In addition, the 1850 Census lists Kelly's place of birth as Virginia. In 1880, Thomas's son Thomas N Kelly reported that his father had been born in North Carolina.⁴ It seems likely that he was not born in South Carolina, and Virginia is a reasonable candidate for his place of birth. A Virginia birthplace would also give further credence to a family tradition that two Kelly brothers came from Ireland to Virginia and Thomas (presumably a son or grandson of one of those two brothers) came on to South Carolina.⁵

The area now known as the Kelly or Kelton section of Union County is said to have been settled by Scotch-Irish settlers who came from southeastern Virginia to settle near Brown's Creek.⁶ Certainly, the 96th District and Union County in particular experienced a substantial influx of settlers in the first decades of the 19th century. It seems likely, therefore, that Thomas came to Union County from Virginia in the decade prior to 1820 when he would have been in his late twenties or early thirties. Thomas Kelly first appears as a head of household in the U. S. Census records for Union County in 1820. His absence from the record in 1810 when he would have been 26 years of age suggests that he arrived in Union County between 1810 and 1820.⁷

The land on which Thomas Kelly settled is located in the northeastern corner of present day Union County, approximately four miles south of the Pacolet River and six miles west of what was once Pinckneyville, South Carolina. Although land ownership is not marked on the map of Union District prepared by R. Thompson in 1820, Kelly's land would appear to have been just north and west of the intersection of the road from Unionville to Pinckneyville with a second road cutting north to an alternate crossing of the Broad River at Howel's Ferry.⁸ In 1858, a town at that intersection, named Kelton, opened its post office.⁹ Two years later, the record shows that Thomas Kelly's son and namesake, Thomas N. Kelly, was the town's postmaster.¹⁰

The earliest record of transfer of property to or from Thomas Kelly in the records of Union County is a conveyance transferring a 233-acre tract of land to Joseph Kelly in return for payment of $1,200. The deed was recorded and witnessed on 6 August 1866, although the conveyance index dates the transfer in the year 1850.¹¹ Further research will need to explore the reason behind the absence of a deed conveying land to Thomas Kelly in the records of Union County. It is possible that Kelly received the land as a grant, as suggested in a family tradition.¹² It is also possible that the deed was not recorded or was recorded elsewhere in North or South Carolina. Some Union County transactions are found in the records of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Thomas Kelly farmed the land he owned in Union County, and, prior to the war, he was a slaveholder. In 1820, his household included two adult slaves and their five children 14 or under.¹³ In 1830, the record counts six slave adults and five children under 10.¹⁴ In 1840, there were seven slave adults and six children under 10.¹⁵ In 1850, Thomas owned 1,066 acres of land and worked about a quarter of that acreage. In the same year. a census of his livestock listed 9 horses, 5 milch cows, 15 other cattle, 7 sheep and 60 swine.¹⁶

The Kelly Family Bible lists three marriages for Thomas Kelly. The first, to Rebecca Gault, was on 14 May 1809. Thomas was 25 years old. Rebecca lived only until 12 March 1812.¹⁷ She was the mother of two children during her short life: a daughter Linney, born on 3 January 1809,¹⁸ and a son Ellis, born on 27 January 1812. The second marriage, to Molley Hames, took place on 05 January 1817. Molley was 21 years of age, Thomas was 33. Molley bore four children. Joseph, her only son, was born on 03 June 1818. Three daughters, Susan, Clarissa, and Emma were born on 22 September 1819, 17 July 1821, and 19 July 1823, respectively. Molley died at the age of 29 on 16 July 1825.¹⁹

Only a year after Molley's death, on 1 July 1826, Thomas Kelly married his third wife, Molley's younger sister Melissa Hames. Melissa was the mother of four children: a son, Thomas N. (possibly Norman) born on 02 July 1828; a daughter, Mary, born 08 August 1832; and twin sons, Jimmeson (with variant spellings of Jimerson or Jamerson) and Gazaway, born on 15 April 1836²⁰ Gazaway's death is not recorded in the family Bible, but he is not counted in the 1840 census and there is no further sign of him in other records.²¹ It seems likely that Gazaway died before he was four.

Thomas Kelly's life spanned the Civil War. Although the years of the war impoverished almost everyone in rural Union County, Thomas Kelly survived these difficult times. His youngest sons, Thomas N. and Jamerson, enlisted in South Carolina volunteer companies at the start of the war.^22,23 His namesake, Thomas N. Kelly, enlisted on the day following the firing on Fort Sumter and was among the Confederate troops surrendered by General Lee at Appomattox on 24 April 1865.²⁴ Both young men survived, returned home to settle in Union County, and raised large families in the county. Both were alive when Thomas Kelly died.

Melissa Hames, Thomas Kelly's wife of 49 years and a lifelong resident of Union County, was alive as well when her husband died.²⁵ Four years later, the federal census shows her living with her son Thomas, his wife and new family.²⁶ She died 13 years after her husband's death. on 18 June 1879,²⁷ at the age of 69. By 1890, she and Thomas Kelly would be grandparents of no fewer than 22 grandchildren, many of whom would live out their lives in Union County as well.

Sources:

1. Thomas Kelly's death is taken from the Kelly Family Bible, dated 1833, in the possession of Mel Kelly Newton (great-granddaughter of Thomas Kelly). Also, the tombstone marking the grave of Thomas Kelly reads "In memory of Thomas Kelly, born 9 Dec 1784, died 28 Feb 1866."

2. The Kelly family cemetery is located on property to the southwest of Eisentown Road about 0.5 mile north of Kelton, SC. The stone was standing and legible at the time of a visit by the author in April 1992.

3. Kelly Family Bible, op cit.

4. 1850 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., p. 79, 1173/1173, National Archives Microfilm, Publication, M432, Roll 859. The 1850 U.S. Census, the first to record full names and place of birth for each member of a household, lists Thomas Kelly's place of birth as Virginia. The 1860 U.S. Census records his place of birth as South Carolina. Since the vast majority of births recorded were South Carolina births, the exception to the norm recorded in 1850 is probably accurate. 1880 US Census household of Thomas N Kelley (04 Jun 1880): Ancestry.com, 1880 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Pinckney Township, Union County, South Carolina; Roll: T9_1242; Family History Film: 1255242; Page: 585.4000; Enumeration District: 158. The 1880 Census was the first to ask for the birthplace of parents. Thomas N Kelly reported that his father was born in North Carolina.

5. Letter from Maud Kelly Spears (granddaughter of Thomas Kelly), probably dated 1958, in possession of the author.

6. Mannie Lee Mabry, ed., Union County Heritage, (Union, SC: Union County Heritage Committee, 1981), p. 341.

7. 1820 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., p. 139, line 24. National Archives Microfilm Publication, M33, Roll 121.

8. "Union District, South Carolina, Surveyed by R. Thompson, 1820; Improved for Mills' Atlas. 1825." Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Scale: 2 miles to an inch.

9. Mannie Lee Mabry, ed., Union County Heritage, op cit, p. 341.

10. South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Bible, Cemetery and Courthouse Records, Frame 500, Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) Microfilm 855223. This frame records the contents of the last official list of South Carolina post offices prior to the Civil War (1860).

11. Conveyances, Union County, SC, 1863-1868, Books AI9-B20. Book A19, page 206. LDS Microfilm 255072. Book A19, page 206.

12. Letter from Maud Kelly Spears (granddaughter of Thomas Kelly), probably dated 1958, op cit.

13. 1820 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., op cit.

14. 1830 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., p. 178, line 14, National Archives Microfilm Publication, M19, Roll 171.

15. 1840 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., p. 218, line 8, National Archives Microfilm Publication, M704, Roll 516.

16. 1850 Federal Census of South Carolina (agricultural), Union Co., p. 773, line 2, National Archives Microfilm Publication, ME-1-1, Roll 2.

17. The Kelly Family Bible (op cit) fails to record the date of birth for Rebecca Gault.

18. Although this date is as recorded in the Kelly Family Bible (op cit), either this date or the date of marriage is likely to be incorrect. Together, these dates suggest that Linney was born out of wedlock. Although certainly a possibility, it seems unlikely that it would have been recorded so bluntly in the family Bible.

19. All dates recorded in this paragraph are taken from the Kelly Family Bible, op cit.

20. Ibid.

21. 1840 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., op cit.

22. Confederate Compiled Military Service Record for Thomas Kelly, Company E, 5th South Carolina Infantry, Folder 1166, War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109, National Archives Microfilm Publication M322.

23. Confederate Compiled Military Service Record for Jamerson G. Kelly, Company F, 18th South Carolina Infantry, Folder 1076, War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109, National Archives Microfilm Publication M322.

24. Confederate Compiled Military Service Record for Thomas Kelly, op cit.

25. 1880 Federal Mortality Census of South Carolina, Union Co., National Archives Microfilm Publication, GR22, Roll 3.

26. 1870 Federal Census of South Carolina (population), Union Co., p. 481, 17/20, National Archives microfilm Publication, M593, Roll 1510.

27. Kelly Family Bible, op cit.

Date this page was first published: 2004-02-14.

Date of last update of this page: 2023-05-10.

Date of last update of the narrative on this page: 2023-03-09.

© William K Stuart, 2003-2023